As far as I know, the only evidence having claim over the fact about Ashoka's conversion to Buddhism is the Ashokavadana, a work of the Buddhists themselves. Nor is this fact verifiable by Ashoka's ...

Some of the Jataka Tales are supposed to be about the Buddha in prior lives so the entire collection is touted as Buddhist by many. However, other sources will say they are tales handed down through ...

From reading The Samurai and the Sacred, it looks like Buddhism achieved acceptance into Japanese culture due to its willingness to assimilate with the (already present) Shinto religion. Conversely, ...